A top Indian restaurant in Dublin city centre temporarily had to temporarily close after dirty water leaked into the kitchen and possibly contaminated food.
Indian Spices on 138 Parnell Street was forced to cease all of its activities at is premises on October 10 after after HSE inspectors spotted a number of hygiene issues. The entire premises was temporarily closed when it was discovered that there were "no hand washing facilities" and that food could be contaminated due to the flow of "foul dirty water" into the kitchen, according to The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).
The HSE inspector who issued the report listed evidence that the restaurant did not comply with Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point procedures. They wrote: "Foul water was flowing into the kitchen from a broken waste water drain serving the apartments above.
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"Food including potatoes were sitting in the foul water, rendering this food unfit for human consumption. This foul water was being spread throughout the kitchen on the feet and hands of staff which is likely to contaminate food with pathogens such as E-Coli or Salmonella."
The HSE officer added: "This poses a grave and immediate risk to health."
E-Coli and Salmonella are bacteria which may cause serious illness in people like cause diarrhea if you eat contaminated food or drink foul water. People that are pregnant or have a weakened immune system are particularly at risk.
The HSE officer also noted that the hand wash basin in the kitchen had been removed, and so there was "no hand wash facility" in the kitchen during the inspection. They wrote: "There was no hand wash facility in the kitchen.
"The hand wash basin has been removed from the kitchen recently."
The closure order was lifted two days later on October 12, 2023. Indian Spices is now fully back open to the public.
Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that the issues resulting in the five Enforcement Orders in October related to failures in basic food safety and hygiene requirements. She also expressed her disappointment at the absence of food safety culture in some establishments.
She said: “Food businesses must ensure there is a strong food safety culture in place, including adequate training for all staff. This simply must be a top priority for food businesses.
"Consumers have a right to safe food, and there is a personal responsibility for managers and all employees to comply with food safety legal requirements at all times. Neglecting food safety demonstrates disregard for the well-being of customers and also potentially places their health at an unnecessary risk.
"There can be zero tolerance for negligent practices that put consumers’ health at risk, and the full powers of food law will be used if a food business is found to be in breach.”
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